Wildfires, drought and extreme heat, 2026

Earth observation satellites help monitor phenomena such as wildfires, drought, and heatwaves, with ESA regularly updating a selection of news-related images showing how climate change impacts the world. Extreme heat has become increasingly frequent and intense in Europe and globally; the Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that June 2026 was the second-warmest June on record globally, while Western Europe experienced its warmest June on record. These conditions—high temperatures, lack of rain and soil moisture, and strong wind—provide optimal environments for wildfires, which can be sparked by human carelessness or natural causes such as lightning.

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) has been activated more than 30 times since 1 May 2026 to provide data and images on wildfires in Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, and the UK. Satellites such as Copernicus Sentinel-2 capture high-resolution images in 13 spectral bands for vegetation monitoring in true colour and infrared to reveal heat areas; Sentinel-3's OLCI covers a 1270 km swath and its SLSTR accurately measures land and ocean temperatures; Sentinel-5P measures trace gases and aerosols from wildfires that affect regional air quality; and EarthCARE's multispectral imager highlights active wildfires and smoke plumes while its advanced lidar characterizes emissions like smoke.

All these phenomena are closely linked to climate change: burning organic matter in forests, scrubland, and grassland is estimated to create up to 35% of greenhouse gases, while persistent dry conditions are related to reduced precipitation and river flow. Monitoring and detecting these interconnected phenomena from space plays an important role in how we understand climate and supports emergency response.